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– The back of it.
– Bring it me.
I was not mistaken. That was my pen. She had taken it from my writing-table.
– Do you see, dad? How badly it was made!
The little girl was trying to deny her guilt.
– Why did you yake it without permission, daughter?..
– So what? Must it break?
I was about to lose my temper.İ could restrain my anger in time. What did it mean? It had already happened. And nobody was guilty in it. Neither those who made this pen nor my little daughter. I was so engaged in my work and I could not notice that my daughter had already grown up. She was already interested in paper and pen. What is wrong here? It meant that I would not forbid her taking pens without permission. I had to teach her using pen and paper correctly.
– You are right, my girl, – I said. This pen was not made very well. I’ll give you the new one. It will never break.
– Really?..– My daughter was glad to hear it.
– Of course!..
– Do you know, dad, I did not want it to break off.
My little daughter repented very much. That was a kind of confession in her mind.
– I believe you. – I said. – You will be more careful after this.
– All right, dad! – She jumped and embraced me. – You are the best father!..
I was deeply moved by her action. I did not absolutely feel sorry for broken pen.
AN ELEPHANT OR AN ANT?
Elnur was going back home with his little brother Elmir from the Zoo. His brother asked him on the way:
– Elnur, I wonder, the elephant is stronger or the ant?
– Even babies know this!.. – Elnur laughed ironically.
– Then tell me, which of them is stronger, tell me! – Elmir insisted.
– Of course, an elephant! Didn’t you see, how huge is it?! – Elnur said with assurance.
– No, you are not right!.. – Elmir objected to him.
Elnur stopped:
– What? Do you think that the ant is striong?..
– Of course, the ant is!.. – Elmir said.– Don’t you know it?
Elnur got angry and gave a slap on his brother’s head.
– Are you out of your mind? How can you compare such a huge animal with the little ant? Do you know how the elephant is strong? It can uproot even big trees in the forests with its trunk. But the ant cannot carry even the little grain.
– I say that the ant is stronger than elephant!-Elmir insisted on his mind.
Elnur flew into a rage:
– But the ant is not even the size of an elephant’s claw!
– So what? The case is not in size!..
– Well, in what is the case then?..
– I don’t know. – Elmir could not explain him the reason. – But dad always says so.
– What does dad say?..
– He says that the ant is stronger than the elephant.
– Do you believe him? He thinks that you are naive.
– No, he was serious.
– What makes you think so?
– Don’t you believe me? Ask Gulnar… – Gulnar was their elder sister. – She heard when daddy said it.
Elnur faltered for a while. He knew that his father was always right. If his father said… Elnur did not want to give up so easily.
– We shall clear it up!
In the evening when their father came home from work the boys came up to him. Elnur nudged his brother. He was afraid that his father would think he was so illiterate though he was in the third form and did not know which animal was stronger.
But Elmir was not ashamed:
– Daddy, is the elephant stronger or the ant?
Father said:
– My dear boys, of course, an elephant is the strongest animal in the world…
– You see, I was right! – Elnur said to his brother joyfully…
– But there is something else… – their father added smiling, – If an elephant weighing five tons can barely lift a load weighing a ton and a half load, an ant weighing fif ty milligrams can easily carry a dead worm weighing five hundred milligrams. This is ten times more than the ant’s weight. And this approach reveals that the ant is stronger than the elephant.
EXPERIENCE OF LIFE
Asker’s grandfather was more than eighty years old. He was said: “He had seen the whole world”! .. But he was aware of everything though he was illiterate man and could not read and write. Even the knowledgeable people of the village came to him for advice.
Asgar did not need to go anywhere for advice. His grandfather was always near him. His grandfather always told him when they watered the trees in the garden: “My son, the soil has its own invisible veins. If you want to see the use of water for trees, you have to break the veins of the ground, spade the bottom of the trees and fill them with water. Othervise the water will evaporate quickly”.
Sometimes Asgar slept under the walnut tree when it was getting dark. His grandfather shook and woke him at once:
– Sonny, you must not sleep under the walnut tree when it is getting dark.
– Why, granddad? – Asger asked him in surprise.
– Because the walnut tree receives oxygen like a human and release carbon in the evening. Breathing becomes difficult for the man who sleeps under walnut tree.
Asgar’s grandfather was such a wise man. He knew much more about nature. Sometimes looking at the hens and chickens under the attic and the sparrows rummaged in the dust, he said: “It is going to rain soon!..” And it really rained every time. Sometimes looking at the twittering birds around, he said: “The weather will be fine today!” And it really became fine…
One day the teacher showed an interesting practical lesson on nature study. Asgar decided to examine his grandfather’s knowledge with it.
He took a candle and burnt it. He put it on the floor near the open door. The trembling f lame of the candle tilted to the inside. Asger showed it his grandfather and said as his teacher did it:
– Granddad, look and remember it very well.
– I see, my son. – Grandfather smiled a little.
Asger climbed up the chair. This time he rose the burning candle high.
– Granddad, in which direction is the flame tilting?..
Asgar thought that he was going to astonish his grandfather.
– It is tilting to the outside.
This time Asger asked as his teacher:
– Can you explain the reason, granddad?
– I can, my sonny, I can, – Grandfather stroked his mustache with his hand and smiled cunningly. – İt was all the matter of the air. The stream of the cold air from outside is heavy and it enters the room from below. That’s why it tilts the flame when the candle is on the floor. But the hot air inside the room is light and that’s why it goes out from above. When you rise the candle, the hot air tilts its flame to the outside. Am I right, my son?..
– Wow! Yes, you are! – Asgar was surprised. – Granddad, but you said that you did not go to school!..
– Of course, I never went to school!..
– But how do you know all about it?
– I have learnt all these things from life. The life itself is a school for people – for those who give much attention to it.
TWO SOCKS
Every day when I came home from work, I lied down on the sofa and called my little daughter to me.
– Where are you, my girl?
– I am coming, daddy. – She immediately ran to me wherever she was.
I stretched my legs and she took off my socks with great effort in order to let my feet have a rest. Then she asked me:
– Well, daddy, can your feet breath well now?
– Yes, my dear, thank you very much! May your hands be healthy!
– May your feet be healthy,too!
My daughter finished her work, but did not go away. I knew what she wanted , but İ asked her just to make sure:
– What are you waiting for, dear?
– Don’t you give me my one manat, daddy? – She asked.
– Your manat? – I asked as if İ did not understand her question.
– I am waiting for that what you have to give me. Do you think I take off your socks free of charge?
I jokingly agreed with her from the very beginning. She had to take off my socks every day after work and I had to give her one manat for it. She was going to buy a notebook for her with collected money.
One day I gave my daughter money but she did not go away.
– What are you waiting for now, my dear? – I asked her.
– Daddy, don’t your feet feel cold with a pair of socks? It is very cold in winter.
I thought how this little girl took care of me. I was touched with her words.
– Sometimes they feel cold, my clever daughter.– I said and embraced her.
– Daddy, why don’t you put on two socks together?
– Do you think it will be better for my feet?
– Of course, daddy. Your feet will not feel cold then. – My daughter was happy that I believed her words.
I sleeked down her hair and said:
– Then I will put on two socks tomorrow, my dear.
– All right, daddy, you will. – She smiled cunningly. And don’t forget my two manats.
– Two manats? Why? – I was surprised.
– Since tomorrow I will take off two pair of your socks, daddy. That’s why you will have to give me two manats instead of one.
I DO NOT WANT YOU TO GET OLD
